1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piping joint structure, and more particularly to a piping joint structure in which a male member can be detachably connected to a female member.
2. Description of the Background Art
Piping joint structures have been available in the background art. For example, (1) “Water Jet Propulsion Watercraft” described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-267184, and (2) “Quick Connector and Holding Member Thereof” described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 11-201355, the entirety of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference, are representative of joint structures of the background art.
According to FIG. 6 of the 7-267184 publication, an oil supply pipe 79 is inserted into an auxiliary fuel tank 71, a transfer pipe 74 is connected to the oil supply pipe 79 through a joint 78, the transfer pipe 74 is connected to a main fuel tank 76, and oil in the auxiliary fuel tank 71 is transferred into the main fuel tank 76 by a manual pump 75 provided in the transfer pipe 74.
An example of the joint 78 in the 7-267184 publication above is further described in the 11-201355 publication. According to FIG. 1 of the 11-201355 publication, a quick connector (hereinafter referred to as “piping joint”) is provided in which a male member 1 can be connected to a female member 2 by inserting the male member 1 into the female member 2 through a holding member 3. The male member 1 can be detached from the female member 2 by reducing the diameter of the holding member 3.
The present inventors have determined that the background art suffers from the following problems or disadvantages. For example, the piping joint as above-mentioned is covered with a cover in many cases so that the piping joint will not be disengage during inspection work by the careless touch of an operator or mechanic. However, when the piping joint is covered with a cover, the cover must be removed at the time of disengaging the piping joint, so that ease of workability when connecting or detaching the piping joint is decreased with the aforementioned arrangements of the background art. Therefore, a need in the background art has been identified by the present inventors for a desirable protective measure for these piping joints, e.g., a measure that will not impair the workability of the piping joint.